StatoilHydro determined to develop Luva

STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- StatoilHydro pledged to push forward with finding a solution to developing its offshore Luva natural gas find, which it considers substantial.

The Luva find lies more than 180 miles from land in the Norwegian Sea in close to 6,000 feet of water. Discovered in 1997, the Luva field and its corresponding finds hold an estimated 1.7 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas reserves.

"This could be the first development in the Voring area of the Norwegian Sea, and the first off Norway in such deep water," says Stale Tungesvik, head of reserves and business development at StatoilHydro.

Tungesvik said exploiting the natural gas reserves in the area is complicated by the water depth, its distance from existing infrastructure and challenging weather conditions in the Norwegian Sea.

StatoilHydro and its partners at Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips pledged to spend nearly two years examining possible ways to bring the Luva field on stream.

"We're now going to pursue a creative phase which will end up with three-four different development concepts which could form the basis for a possible Luva project," said Tungesvik.